If you are writing a research paper, thesis, dissertation, or other academic assignment, you may need to cite journal articles in Turabian style. Journal articles require several pieces of information, including the author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, publication date, page range, and, for online articles, a DOI, URL, or database name.
Turabian provides two citation systems: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. The Notes and Bibliography system is commonly used in the humanities and uses numbered footnotes or endnotes together with a bibliography. Author-Date uses parenthetical citations and a reference list.
This guide focuses primarily on Turabian Notes and Bibliography, including how to cite print and online journal articles, articles with multiple authors, DOI links, database articles, shortened footnotes, and bibliography entries.
Need a citation quickly? You can use the CiteHelp citation generator to generate a citation and then check it against your instructor's requirements.
What Is a Turabian Journal Article Citation?
A Turabian journal article citation identifies a scholarly article published in an academic journal.
A typical journal article contains information such as:
- Author or authors
- Article title
- Journal title
- Volume number
- Issue number
- Publication date or year
- Page range
- DOI, database name, or URL when applicable
The exact presentation depends on whether you are creating a footnote, shortened footnote, or bibliography entry.
For Notes and Bibliography style, a footnote normally gives the specific page or pages you used, while the bibliography gives the complete page range of the article.
Turabian Journal Article Citation: Basic Format
For a journal article, the basic Turabian Notes and Bibliography format is:
Footnote
First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Journal Title volume, no. issue (publication date): specific page, DOI or URL.
Bibliography
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title volume, no. issue (publication date): full page range. DOI or URL.
For example:
Footnote:
- Ashley Hope Pérez, “Material Morality and the Logic of Degrees in Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau,” Modern Philology 114, no. 4 (May 2017): 874, https://doi.org/10.1086/689836.
Bibliography:
Pérez, Ashley Hope. “Material Morality and the Logic of Degrees in Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau.” Modern Philology 114, no. 4 (May 2017): 872–98. https://doi.org/10.1086/689836.
These examples follow the current Turabian Notes and Bibliography quick guide.
How to Cite a Journal Article in a Turabian Footnote
When you use information from a journal article, place a superscript footnote number after the relevant sentence or passage.
The corresponding footnote provides information about the source.
For example:
Researchers have found that access to higher education can affect both educational and economic outcomes.¹
The footnote might be:
- Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem, “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality,” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 9–10, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
Notice the difference between the article's pages and the cited pages
The article may run from pages 1–34, but if you used information from pages 9 and 10, the footnote cites:
9–10
The bibliography, however, gives the article's complete page range:
1–34
This distinction is an important part of Turabian journal article citation.
How to Cite a Journal Article in a Turabian Bibliography
The bibliography provides the full citation for the article.
Unlike a footnote, the bibliography entry begins with the author's last name because bibliography entries are alphabetized by author.
Example
Footnote:
- Peter LaSalle, “Conundrum: A Story about Reading,” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95, Project MUSE.
Bibliography:
LaSalle, Peter. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95–109. Project MUSE.
The footnote identifies the particular page consulted, while the bibliography provides the complete page range of the article.
How to Cite a Print Journal Article in Turabian
A print journal article generally does not require a URL or DOI.
Include the author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, publication information, and page range.
Footnote
- B. T. Hebert, “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life,” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 310.
Bibliography
Hebert, B. T. “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life.” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 307–13.
If you are citing a particular page in the article, use that page in the footnote.
How to Cite an Online Journal Article in Turabian
Online journal articles follow essentially the same structure as print journal articles, but an online citation can include a DOI, URL, or database name.
When a DOI is available, the current Turabian guide recommends using the DOI-based URL rather than the URL shown in a browser's address bar.
Example with a DOI
Footnote:
- Hyeyoung Kwon, “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life,” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1842–43, https://doi.org/10.1086/720277.
Bibliography:
Kwon, Hyeyoung. “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life.” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1818–59. https://doi.org/10.1086/720277.
How to Cite a Journal Article With a DOI in Turabian
A DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, provides a persistent identifier for a digital scholarly article.
When an article has a DOI, present it as a URL beginning with:
For example:
Turabian footnote with DOI
- Benjamin Lindquist, “The Art of Text-to-Speech,” Critical Inquiry 50, no. 2 (2023): 230, https://doi.org/10.1086/727651.
Turabian bibliography with DOI
Lindquist, Benjamin. “The Art of Text-to-Speech.” Critical Inquiry 50, no. 2 (2023): 225–51. https://doi.org/10.1086/727651.
A DOI is generally preferable to a temporary page URL because it is designed to provide a persistent link to the article.
How to Cite a Journal Article From a Database
You may access a journal article through a database such as JSTOR, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, or another academic research database.
If there is no DOI being used, Turabian allows the database name to be included for an online article.
Example
Footnote:
- B. T. Hebert, “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life,” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 310, EBSCOhost.
Bibliography:
Hebert, B. T. “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life.” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 307–13. EBSCOhost.
The current Turabian guide specifically provides database names as an alternative when citing journal articles consulted online.
Turabian Journal Article With One Author
For an article with one author, list the author's name normally in the footnote.
Footnote
- Ashley Hope Pérez, “Material Morality and the Logic of Degrees in Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau,” Modern Philology 114, no. 4 (May 2017): 874, https://doi.org/10.1086/689836.
Bibliography
Pérez, Ashley Hope. “Material Morality and the Logic of Degrees in Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau.” Modern Philology 114, no. 4 (May 2017): 872–98. https://doi.org/10.1086/689836.
Turabian Journal Article With Two Authors
For an article with two authors, include both authors in the footnote and bibliography.
For example:
- Emily L. Dittmar and Douglas W. Schemske, “Temporal Variation in Selection Influences Microgeographic Local Adaptation,” American Naturalist 202, no. 4 (2023): 480, https://doi.org/10.1086/725865.
The bibliography would begin:
Dittmar, Emily L., and Douglas W. Schemske. “Temporal Variation in Selection Influences Microgeographic Local Adaptation.” American Naturalist 202, no. 4 (2023): 471–85. https://doi.org/10.1086/725865.
The current Chicago/Turabian examples use volume and issue information and provide the complete article page range in the bibliography.
Turabian Journal Article With Three or More Authors
Journal articles, particularly scientific articles, can have many authors.
For four or more authors, Turabian's Notes and Bibliography examples use the first author's name followed by “et al.” in the note, while the bibliography lists the authors according to the applicable author-count rules.
Footnote
- Jesse N. Weber et al., “Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite,” American Naturalist 189, no. 1 (January 2017): 45, https://doi.org/10.1086/689597.
Shortened footnote
- Weber et al., “Resist Globally,” 48–49.
Bibliography
Weber, Jesse N., Martin Kalbe, Kum Chuan Shim, Noémie I. Erin, Natalie C. Steinel, Lei Ma, and Daniel I. Bolnick. “Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite.” American Naturalist 189, no. 1 (January 2017): 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1086/689597.
How to Cite a Journal Article With a Volume and Issue Number
Academic journals commonly identify articles using volume and issue numbers.
A typical Turabian citation might look like:
American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022)
Here:
- 127 = volume number
- no. 6 = issue number
- 2022 = publication year
The article's page range follows the publication information.
For example:
Kwon, Hyeyoung. “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life.” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1818–59. https://doi.org/10.1086/720277.
How to Cite the Page Number of a Journal Article
One of the most common mistakes in Turabian journal citations is confusing the article's complete page range with the specific page you actually used.
In a footnote
Use the specific page:
- Hyeyoung Kwon, “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life,” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1842.
In the bibliography
Use the complete article range:
Kwon, Hyeyoung. “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life.” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1818–59. https://doi.org/10.1086/720277.
This is one of the key differences between the note and bibliography forms of a Turabian journal article citation.
How to Create a Shortened Turabian Journal Article Footnote
After you have cited a journal article in full, later references to the same source can normally use a shortened note.
A shortened note generally contains:
- Author's last name
- Shortened article title
- Specific page number
Full note
- Ashley Hope Pérez, “Material Morality and the Logic of Degrees in Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau,” Modern Philology 114, no. 4 (May 2017): 874, https://doi.org/10.1086/689836.
Shortened note
- Pérez, “Material Morality,” 880–81.
The shortened form makes repeated citations much easier to read while still allowing the reader to identify the source.
Turabian Footnote vs. Bibliography for a Journal Article
| Element | Footnote | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Author | First Name Last Name | Last Name, First Name |
| Article title | Yes | Yes |
| Journal title | Yes | Yes |
| Volume | Yes | Yes |
| Issue | Yes | Yes |
| Publication date | Yes | Yes |
| Specific page cited | Yes | No |
| Full article page range | Usually no | Yes |
| DOI/URL/database | When applicable | When applicable |
| Alphabetized | No | Yes |
The most important difference is that a footnote points the reader to the particular material you used, while the bibliography provides the complete publication information.
Turabian Journal Article Citation Examples at a Glance
Journal article with DOI
Footnote:
- Benjamin Lindquist, “The Art of Text-to-Speech,” Critical Inquiry 50, no. 2 (2023): 230, https://doi.org/10.1086/727651.
Bibliography:
Lindquist, Benjamin. “The Art of Text-to-Speech.” Critical Inquiry 50, no. 2 (2023): 225–51. https://doi.org/10.1086/727651.
Journal article with database
Footnote:
- B. T. Hebert, “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life,” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 310, EBSCOhost.
Bibliography:
Hebert, B. T. “The Island of Bolsö: A Study of Norwegian Life.” Sociological Review 17, no. 4 (1925): 307–13. EBSCOhost.
Journal article with multiple authors
Footnote:
- Jesse N. Weber et al., “Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite,” American Naturalist 189, no. 1 (January 2017): 45, https://doi.org/10.1086/689597.
Shortened note:
- Weber et al., “Resist Globally,” 48–49.
Bibliography:
Weber, Jesse N., Martin Kalbe, Kum Chuan Shim, Noémie I. Erin, Natalie C. Steinel, Lei Ma, and Daniel I. Bolnick. “Resist Globally, Infect Locally: A Transcontinental Test of Adaptation by Stickleback and Their Tapeworm Parasite.” American Naturalist 189, no. 1 (January 2017): 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1086/689597.
Common Turabian Journal Citation Mistakes
1. Using the browser URL instead of the DOI
If an article has a DOI, use the DOI-based URL rather than copying a long temporary URL from the browser.
Better:
The DOI is designed to provide a persistent link to the article.
2. Putting the article's complete page range in every footnote
If you cite page 230 specifically, the footnote should identify page 230.
The bibliography should contain the complete article page range.
3. Forgetting the journal volume
The journal title alone is not enough. Include the volume and, when applicable, issue number.
4. Confusing the issue number with the page number
For example:
Journal Name 50, no. 2 (2023): 230.
Here, 50 is the volume, 2 is the issue, and 230 is the specific page cited.
5. Using the bibliography format as a footnote
Footnotes and bibliography entries have different name orders.
Footnote:
Hyeyoung Kwon
Bibliography:
Kwon, Hyeyoung.
6. Forgetting shortened notes
If the same article is cited repeatedly, using the complete citation every time can make the notes unnecessarily long. Turabian provides shortened forms for subsequent citations.
7. Mixing Turabian systems
Turabian has both Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date systems. Do not combine numbered footnotes from one system with parenthetical citations from the other unless your instructor specifically requires a particular approach.
Turabian Journal Articles: Notes and Bibliography vs. Author-Date
The examples above use Notes and Bibliography, but Turabian also provides an Author-Date system.
Notes and Bibliography
A source is identified using a numbered footnote:
- Hyeyoung Kwon, “Inclusion Work: Children of Immigrants Claiming Membership in Everyday Life,” American Journal of Sociology 127, no. 6 (2022): 1842–43, https://doi.org/10.1086/720277.
Author-Date
The source is identified in the text using the author's name and year:
(Kwon 2022, 1842–43)
The Author-Date reference list contains the complete source information.
If your instructor asks for Turabian footnotes, use Notes and Bibliography rather than Author-Date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you cite a journal article in Turabian style?
For Notes and Bibliography, a journal article footnote generally includes the author's name, article title, journal title, volume, issue, publication date, specific page cited, and DOI, URL, or database when applicable.
A bibliography entry uses the author's inverted name and includes the article's complete page range.
Does Turabian use footnotes for journal articles?
Yes. The Turabian Notes and Bibliography system uses numbered footnotes or endnotes. Journal articles can be cited in these notes, followed by a bibliography when required.
Do I need a DOI in a Turabian journal citation?
If the article has a DOI and you are citing the online version, using the DOI as a URL is preferred. If there is no DOI, a database name or appropriate URL may be used.
Do I include the full page range in a Turabian footnote?
Usually, the note identifies the specific page or pages you used. The bibliography provides the complete page range of the article.
How do I cite a journal article from JSTOR in Turabian?
If there is no DOI being used, you can include the database name in the citation. The exact treatment can depend on the information available for the article and your instructor's requirements.
How do I cite a journal article with four or more authors in Turabian?
In a Notes and Bibliography footnote, Turabian uses the first author's name followed by et al. for four or more authors. The bibliography provides the authors according to Turabian's author-list rules.
Is Turabian the same as Chicago style?
Turabian is closely based on Chicago style and uses the same two broad citation systems: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. The Turabian manual is specifically designed for student papers, theses, and dissertations.
Can I use a Turabian citation generator for journal articles?
Yes. A citation generator can help format the basic citation information, especially when an article has a DOI, multiple authors, volume and issue information, or a database record.
However, you should still check the generated citation against your instructor's requirements and the relevant Turabian guidelines.
Quick Turabian Journal Article Checklist
Before submitting your paper, check that your journal article citation includes the information you need:
- Author name is correct
- Article title is included
- Journal title is included
- Volume number is included
- Issue number is included when applicable
- Publication year or date is correct
- Specific page is included in the footnote when applicable
- Complete article page range appears in the bibliography
- DOI is used when available
- Database name or appropriate URL is included when applicable
- Subsequent citations use an appropriate shortened note
- Footnote and bibliography formats are not mixed
- You are using the citation system required by your instructor
Generate a Turabian Journal Article Citation
Journal articles can contain a lot of information, and manually formatting every citation can take time.
CiteHelp can help you generate citations from your source information and format them according to the selected citation style.
Generate a citation with CiteHelp
You may also want to read:
- Turabian Citation Guide
- Turabian Footnotes: Complete Guide With Examples
- How to Cite a Website in Turabian Style
Final Takeaway
A Turabian journal article citation needs more than just the author's name and article title. For a complete citation, pay attention to the journal title, volume, issue, publication date, page numbers, and DOI or database information when applicable.
If you are using Notes and Bibliography, remember the key distinction: the footnote identifies the specific page or pages you consulted, while the bibliography gives the article's complete page range. Subsequent references can normally be shortened.
When in doubt, check your instructor's requirements and the current Turabian guidance before submitting your paper.